Soccer Banter: With the start of the 2011 MLS season just around the corner with a total of 18 teams, let's think back to 10 years ago in 2001 when two teams folded from MLS (Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny) and the league was at 10 teams and many people thinking the entire league could be eliminated...what are your thoughts on what has transpired over the last decade and the current state of MLS?

Ridge Mahoney: Getting through the first decade in the wake of contraction set up the league to expand, and it has added a lot of teams and facilities since RSL and Chivas USA came aboard in 2005. The long-term deals signed with ESPN and adidas (renewed last year) I believe played a huge role in establishing the league’s stability and lured investors. The league’s creation of SUM in 2002 to bring new companies into the soccer marketplace was a very sharp move.

That the league has been able to expand and establish viable franchises in a very uncertain economy is confirmation that its business policies are valid. The incredible success of Toronto and Seattle has raised the bar on and off the field, and the teams that try to get by as glorified USL wannabes will suffer. Establishing player academies and development programs is costly but they have public-relations and community-outreach value as well as possible competitive benefit.

The newer teams are not only capitalizing on traditions and histories and rivalries created by the old NASL, they are also exploiting a pent-up demand that has built up in the past decade. This demand has been cited by executives in Philly, and also Portland and Vancouver, whose soccer and business communities were energized once Seattle landed a team.

In any league, some teams will struggle and that’s certainly no solace to fans of DC United in particular, who have endured a farcical run of stadium stumbles, or those loyal to the coaching carousel that is Chivas USA.

Yet MLS is also different in that a segment of U.S. fans obsess about single-table, promotion-relegation, and other facets of foreign sports leagues they don’t seem to realize (or don't care) are not unique to soccer. Most foreign hockey, volleyball, rugby, basketball, team handball, etc., leagues all have those elements, none of which are likely to be adapted by NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB or MLS. Teams can “move up” to MLS just as Portland and Vancouver and Montreal have done, but if Dave Checketts has the courage and resources to transform Salt Lake City into a successful MLS market, he can do it his way.

SB: Easier question, which team(s) will win the Supporters Shield and MLS Cup in 2011 and in your opinion which is more rewarding?

RM: Accumulating the most points doesn’t determine the champion, so the MLS Cup is more relevant. I don’t think LA feels rewarded for its work in 2010 despite having the most points. I like romanticism as much as the next guy but all this quibbling about the SS versus MLS Cup strikes me as pointless; MLS is an American league, in which champions are determined by postseason playoffs, full stop, that's it, thanks for coming. In a perfect world, the SS winner would get a bye into the championship game(s), with the other qualifiers fighting it out to be the other finalist, but that’s not happening either.

SS winner: Seattle. MLS Cup champion: Real Salt Lake.

SB: Which Designated Player will have the biggest impact on a team’s success this season?

RM: Alvaro Saborio. If Omar Bravo adapts to MLS, he can upgrade KC significantly even if he doesn’t put up monster numbers. I’m also anxious to see how much better LA will be with JPA prowling the penalty area.

SB: Who will be this year’s Chris Wondolowski? (editor's note: looking for unheralded player coming out of nowhere but like both responses)

RM: If you mean the Golden Boot Winner, I have no idea. How about Fredy Montero? If you mean an unheralded player who nearly triples his career goal output in one season, I’m equally stumped. But I could see Dane Richards coming out of the clouds with a lot of points if the new Red Bulls fit in.

SB: A bit off-topic but what young American (playing in MLS or abroad) are you most excited for in regards to future national team success?

RM: That’s too broad a question, how young is young? Juan Agudelo is 18, Jozy Altidore is 21, both are young to me, and we’ll have to see how the U-17s and U-20s do this year to assess their squads. Our centerbacks are aging, so Gale Agbossoumonde, Omar Gonzalez, Tim Ream and Ike Opara need to step it up.